Eggplant "a beccafico"

Eggplant “a beccafico” is a typical Sicilian dish inspired by the preparation of “beccafico”, a type of stuffed bird. It’s a dish that brings together sweet and savory with a filling made from bread, raisins, pine nuts, and herbs. Let’s take a look at the recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 long and thin eggplants
• 100 g of breadcrumbs
• 50 g of raisins
• 50 g of pine nuts
• 2 salted anchovies
• A bunch of chopped parsley
• 1 clove of garlic
• 50 g of grated cheese (pecorino or parmesan)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A little white wine or apple vinegar
• Lemon juice

Preparation

1. Start by washing the eggplants, remove the ends and cut them in half lengthwise. Score the flesh in a checkerboard pattern without cutting through the skin and brush them with a bit of oil.
2. Bake the eggplants in the oven at 180 °C (356 °F) for about 20 minutes or until they have softened.
3. Meanwhile, soak the raisins in warm water or white wine. In a frying pan, lightly toast the breadcrumbs until they turn golden, then remove from heat and place in a bowl.
4. In another pan, sauté chopped garlic and anchovies until they dissolve, then add pine nuts and squeezed raisins.
5. Combine the garlic, anchovies, pine nuts, and raisins with the toasted breadcrumbs. Add chopped parsley, grated cheese, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of oil. Mix well to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
6. Remove the eggplants from the oven and, with the help of a spoon, create a furrow in the flesh to be able to stuff them. Fill them with the prepared mixture and roll them up on themselves to form rolls.
7. Place the eggplant rolls in a baking dish, drizzle with a bit of oil and some lemon juice, and bake again at 180 °C (356 °F) for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
8. Serve the eggplant “a beccafico” hot or at room temperature, drizzling with a bit of raw oil if desired.

Trivia

The tradition of this dish has its roots in popular cuisine, where ingenuity in creating flavorful recipes with poor and available ingredients was essential. Eggplants, abundant in Sicily, were thus transformed into something special, rich in flavors and also suitable for festive occasions.